Cleaning of fouled or scaled industrial process equipment is typically conducted using a high-pressure lance that is held and manipulated by a human operator. The operator must move and aim the lance to direct a stream of high pressure cleaning solution, typically water, at close range against the process equipment to be cleaned. Not only does this close range working environment expose the operator to potentially hazardous splash back (blowback) of the cleaning solution and removed contaminates, but it also requires that the operator constantly exert a force to counter the force exerted by the lance due to the exiting high pressure cleaning solution. This counter acting force is similar to the effort exerted by a fire fighter handling and aiming a high-pressure fire hose. Because the operator is capable of exerting only a certain limited amount of counter force, this greatly limits the maximum force or thrust that can be used in a typical cleaning lance. The physical exertion required by the operator can cause rapid operator fatigue typically resulting in losing control of the lance and causing harm to himself and to his surroundings. To avoid such fatigue, the operator is required to take frequent breaks or to work with a team of operators each taking turns with the lance, both of which increase the cost and time required to perform a given cleaning project.
Such manual operator cleaning methods that employ a high-pressure lance also require that the operator wear special protective clothing to avoid being exposed to a blowback mix of cleaning solution and the material being removed from the process equipment. This blowback can collect on an operator's safety shield or visor significantly reducing visibility causing an unsafe condition and thus requiring frequent cleaning, again reducing the efficiency of the cleaning process. The close proximity required when using a lance for cleaning also means the operator must stand and move around on slippery surfaces caused by pooling of the blowback mix that will typically contain oily components. In some cases, depending on the geographic location, this blowback mix can freeze, further increasing the risk of an accident.
Some of these problems associated with using a handheld high-pressure lance to clean industrial equipment have been solved by the use of a large tractor, such as a backhoe, that is fitted with a spray head on the articulating arm. These large tractors require an operator to sit in an operator's compartment on the tractor and to manually manipulate the hydraulic controls to move the tractor and the arm. Manual manipulation of the hydraulic valves using levers is cumbersome and awkward when it comes to directing the spray nozzles at or into the convoluted and complex sections and pieces of most process equipment. Also, the hydraulic valves on these tractors have such large flow rates that precise control is seldom possible by human manipulation of the levers that are directly attached to and physically manipulate the valves. Also, because of the large physical size of these tractors their use is limited to only large outdoor areas where they can be safely maneuvered. Indoor operation or within a small outdoor footprint is extremely difficult if not impossible.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art of industrial high-pressure cleaning for a safer and smaller device to perform such hydroblasting pressure washing of industrial process equipment. Our invention solves this need by converting a small compact tractor originally designed and built for excavating projects into a remotely operated high pressure washing system that protects the operator and greatly increases the cleaning efficiency. These and other advantages will become evident from the following more detailed description of the invention.